1918 Flu Pandemic in Alaska: Natives and Whites Suffer
"At times, all of the Indians in some of the villages were down with the illness, and the sick were cared for, and the dead buried, by Commission employees."
Some native villages were completely wiped out. Sometimes there were a few orphans left.
Editor’s Note: This article discusses the widespread suffering caused by the 1918 influenza pandemic along the line of the Alaska Railroad, then under construction. The article was part of a weekly report about the progress of building the railroad, which was printed in the Anchorage Daily Times, December 2, 1918. The accompanying graphic is also from the Anchorage Daily Times of the period.
Influenza Epidemic Among Indians Cost Commission More Than $2,000
More than $2,000 in food, medicine, and service was expended by the Alaskan Engineering Commission to aid Indians along the line of the government railroad in the Anchorage division. During the recent epidemic of Spanish influenza, more than 30 of the natives died of the disease.
At times, all of the Indians in some of the villages were down with the illness, and the sick were cared for, and the dead buried, by Commission employees.
In the Talkeetna district, almost every native was afflicted with the disease, and so many white persons there fell ill of the ailment that construction work was materially retarded on the railroad. Six natives in the Talkeetna district succumbed to the scourge. Conditions resulting from the epidemic in the Talkeetna district are described in the report for November of H. F. Dose, the engineer in charge of railroad construction work there.
“All grades of employees have been affected with influenza, and in nearly every camp in the district the epidemic appeared,” says Mr. Dos. “Only a few station men’s camps proved immune. The greatest number of cases were treated in camp number 245, dead horse Hill, where it became necessary to convert the large log building, used as a social Hall and reading room into a temporary hospital. The total number of cases diagnosed as influenza exceeded 30, of which one developed into pneumonia. None however, proved fatal.
“The Talkeetna Indians living north of Montana Creek suffered severely from the disease, and it became necessary to lend immediate aid to relieve their suffering. Two families camped near Montana Creek were sent to Anchorage, but the condition of three of these was such that the aid given them up here as well as the attention they received at anchorage were of no avail.
“An entire colony Near question Creek was found in a helpless condition. Two of the children died and were buried by our force. It also was found necessary to delegate a small force to cut wood for them because all the grown-up members in the colony were absolutely unable to take care of either themselves or the children.
Chief and One of His Wives Die
“At Talkeetna, the old chief Nikolai, one of his wives, a brother, and an infant succumbed. The condition of the survivors was so deplorable that a nurse was engaged to look after them in order that they might not perish. A small force was also delegated to bury the dead and provide wood for the living. Food from the commissary was sent to them to supply their wants.”
Influenza afflicted the Indians at Chickaloon. Most of these were assisted with medicine, food, and clothing by the Red Cross, and the supplies were delivered by the railroad. At Susitna where more than 20 natives died of the epidemic, a party of men and women nurses was sent from Anchorage under the auspices of the Red Cross. The members of the relief party and their supplies were transported over the railroad from Anchorage to Wasilla and thence by dog sled about 35 miles over the trail to Susitna.
Party Tries to Go to Kodiak
At the request of Thomas Riggs Jr, Governor of Alaska, in an effort to relieve the residents at Kodiak were the influenza raged with great violence and where there was no physician, the Commission organized a party consisting of Dr. H. P. Palmer, Captain in the medical corps of the United States Army stationed in Anchorage; C. H. Thompson, steward at the Government Hospital in Anchorage, and W. C. Hunt, marine engineer who worked for the Commission. The party, furnished with medical supplies by the Commission, was taken over the railroad from Anchorage to Seward. At Seward, it was thought that the arrangements had been made to take the members of the party in a cannery, tender boat from there to Kodiak, but after having waited in vain for the boat at Seward for 11 days, the party returned to Anchorage.
In Anchorage the Commission supplied the stoves, cooking utensils, and other necessary articles to fit up the vacant hotel building at the corner of Third Avenue and C streets into a hospital for the treatment of Indians ill of influenza. Not only were Indians living in and near anchorage admitted to the hospital, but natives from towns along the line of the railroad were brought there for treatment. The committee in charge of this hospital was composed of Sidney Anderson, Vice President of the Bank of Anchorage, J. H. Dunnagan, Indian agent at Tyonic, who was in Anchorage at the time, and Archie Balderson, clerk in the Executive Offices of the Commission. Dr. F. M. Boyle, health officer for Anchorage, was the physician in charge. Many natives were treated. Only four died.
According to reports, the epidemic is now at an end not only among the whites but also among the Indians.
Originally published at https://www.anchoragepress.com on May 24, 2020.
